Darren touches the statue, then leads the way into the Pharasman crypt.
Filios follows Darren inside with both swords drawn and searches for secret doors and any denizens.
Perception:
Most of the bodies in here are dust or turn to dust if you try to touch them. These are clearly the remains of the Pharasman clergy from that time period, and you manage to find a dozen ancient silver holy symbols of Pharasma along with a wand of Disrupt Undead with 23 charges remaining amongst the corpses. Otherwise, you find nothing of worth or magic.
Here is everything you have explored so far.
I agree with Morthos. I say that we head East out of here and traverse the Southeast unexplored section first.
"I still want to reverse that mirror image thing we did yesterday. And Solomon's out of healing magic for the day. Why don't we go back to the reflective rooms today and then rest up and check the doors to the east of the cathedral tomorrow?"
Fine by me...rest it is!
[ooc]They were granted by the aid spell, so when the spell runs out, the temp hp are gone. You have about 6 minutes left for them given the caster level of the spell and the fact that you have spent some of that time exploring the crypt.
You open the eastern bronze doors and the ceiling opens up between two staircases in this wide corridor, creating a shaft above the hallway. Ten feet up, the shaft appears to connect to another passage above running north-south. A grisly heap of decaying body parts lies at the bottom of the shaft. The air is rank with the smell of rot, corruption, and pungent chemicals.
Filios perception
Solomon
Morthos
Petvar
Stealth
As you enter the stairwell going up towards the landing with all the body parts, some severed hands suddenly jumps out of the pile of body parts at your throats. The ones going for Filios, Solomon, and Petvar all manage to grab a hold the throat and start strangling these three. The ones going after Darren and Morthos aim low and try to grab at the chest of these individuals, accomplishing nothing.
Filios
Solomon
Petvar
Morthos
Hands
A character who has no air to breathe can hold her breath for 2 rounds per point of Constitution. If a character takes a standard or full-round action, the remaining duration that the character can hold her breath is reduced by 1 round. After this period of time, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check in order to continue holding her breath. The check must be repeated each round, with the DC increasing by +1 for each previous success.
When the character fails one of these Constitution checks, she begins to suffocate. In the first round, she falls unconscious (0 hit points). In the following round, she drops to –1 hit points and is dying. In the third round, she suffocates.
Also, it should go without saying, but talking is also rather problematic for those being strangled.
Darren attacks the hand the attacked him.
Filios attacks the hand(s) that reached for him with both weapons.
LS ATT:
SS ATT:
LS DAM:
SS DAM:
What the hell is going on?
Solomon ponders to himself why the rest of the creature is invisible while the hand can be seen, and why he cant manage to even feel an arm attatched to the hand around his neck. He reaches up towards his neck and begins trying to rip the hand free.
Successfully ripping the thing from his neck, Solomon calls out to his companions, "Someone mind giving me a hand?" He chuckles to himself at the ridiculously horrible pun.
Petvar grabs the hand and attempts to attack the hand grappling his throat with his light hammer, hoping to smash it off his throat.
Lgt Hammer: (+2 undead)
LH Damage: (+2 undead)
The one on Petvar continues to try to strangle him despite being heavily damaged. The others try to attach themselves to their chosen target's throat, including Darren's which also looks quite damaged, with a couple finger looking quite limp. The one on Petvar is unable to maintain hold, but the one striking Morthos finally finds an opening, doing some damage and getting a good solid hold on his throat. The one is Solomon's grasp is unable to reassert control, but still continues to struggle, and the others are completely ineffective in their attempts.
Round 1:
Struggling for breath, Morthos draws his warhammer, and tries to beat the hand from his throat!
Darren swings again at the hand.
Petvar continues to try to destroy the dismembered hand.
Petvar continues to try to destroy the dismembered hand.
You're still technically grappled, the hand just couldn't maintain the strangling effect. You still manage to render most of its fingers useless, though it is still struggling and attempting to regrab your neck with its remaining digits and crushed palm.
Filios again attacks the hand(s) attempting to attack him with both weapons.
LS ATT:
SS ATT:
LS DAM:
SS DAM:
Solomon lets go of the hand he had been holding, dropping it to the floor. he draws his battleaxe, and chops down at it.
Round 2:
Morthos continues to beat on the hand that is grappling him, trying to smash its fingers enough to force it to lose its choke-hold...
Round 2, the enemy
Neither of the two remaining hands is able to do anything against their selected targets.
Solomon takes another swing at the disembodied hand in front of him.
Darren attacks the hand that Solomon is facing.
Again, Filios attacks with both weapons.
LS ATT:
SS ATT:
LS DAM:
SS DAM:
Petvar moves up next to Filios and attacks the hand still aggravating Filios.
Lgt Hammer:
LH Damage:
Round 3:
Massaging his bruised throat, Morthos moves to assist whomever still has a hand trying to strangle him...
[ooc] Would a 16 have hit mine last time? I forgot to add in the bonus for Aid, if we still have it?
The 15 hit, and severely wounded it, it just didn't quite kill it.
And the hands are all now lying limp on the floor, except for Darren's, which was vaporized. Morthos' hand has an odd tattoo of a stylized owl on its back.
Morthos looks at the tattoo uncomprehendingly, and then shrugs.
"Does anyone know what this represents?"
He then sheathes his warhammer, draws his Ancestral Greataxe, and begins to gingerly search the room...
Being quite satisfied with killing the hand, puts away his battleaxe and casts Detect Magic, trying to see the rest of the body that must still be invisible somehow.
After making himself thoroughly confused by the lack of body attatched to the hand, and thoroughly convinced it really isnt there, he turns his attentions to the rest of the area, trying to detect any sort of magical aura that might be about.
Petvar takes the hand from Morthos and looks closely at the tattoo. "It is the symbol of the "Council of Truth". A society of powerful wizards and sages who mysteriously disappeared from Kaer Maga years ago. You know, that's the second powerful group that we have encountered down here. I don't think this Ossuary is as secret or secure as the Pharasmans think it is."
200 xp each. As you search the pile of reeking body parts, you find a gold ring with an inset emerald(not magical). Otherwise, you find nothing, and are glad to be done when you reach the bottom and are satisfied that nothing else of value is in this pile of reeking random body parts that were apparently just dropped down from the shaft above the landing. The stairs continue up a ways before they reach another landing that opens onto the right onto another set of stairs that continues upward to the same level as the rest of the exterior hallway.